Last Word

Rev. Ron Lancaster, aka The Master Blaster Pastor, combined his duties as a clergyman and teacher with becoming one of the UK’s leading pyrotechnic experts. He was behind the displays at the London 2012 Olympics, the Queen's Jubilee in 1977 and many other significant public occasions. Ron’s son Mark Lancaster remembers digging up the Queen's rose garden for that display, aged seven, and shares his memories of his father.
The American civil rights leader Dolores Huerta rallied farm workers in the 1960s and 70s to fight for their rights, under the battle cry, “Yes we can!”; a phrase later popularised by Barak Obama. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 and her work is celebrated every year in California on 10th April which has been designated Dolores Huerta day. Gustavo Arellano, a columnist for the LA Times, met Dolores on several occasions and recalls the impression she left on him. 
Jean Phillips-Martinsson drew on her challenging personal experiences to become one of the founders of the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation. Her son Anders was diagnosed with the rare genetic condition as a teenager, which can lead to lethargy, feeding difficulties and floppiness in babies, delayed development and behavioural challenges in children, and an insatiable hunger as patients get older. Tony Holland is President Emeritus of the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation and shares Jean's commitment to improving the lives of those affected by the condition.
Dónal Lunny was a hugely influential figure in the world of Irish traditional music. Playing in bands like Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, he was renowned as a fine instrumentalist and also an arranger and producer. He was much in demand as a collaborator, appearing on albums by stars like Kate Bush, Sinéad O’Connor and Mark Knopfler. Bandmate Andy Irvine tells us what it was like to play with him.
 Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
Archive:
Archive:
BBC One, New Year’s Eve, 31/12/2014; BBC News, 31/10/1957; BBC One, Silver Jubilee, Fires of Friendship, 06/06/1977; BBC One, In the Making: Fireworks, 01/06/1977; BBC One, Firework Fiesta, 05/11/1977; BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour, 23/10/2013; Courier California, Dolores Huerta, uploaded to YouTube, October 2026; BBC One, The One Show, 06/12/2023; “In Time “, Director / Writer - Nuala O'Connor, Producer - Iarfhlaith Ó Domhnaill, Executive Producer - P.J. Mathews, South Wind Blows (South Wind Blows Productions), Released 2025

Margaret Papandreou was the American born wife of the socialist Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. When her husband was elected in 1981, Margaret refused to disappear into the background. Instead, she embarked on a series of high-profile campaigns for women’s rights that brought her international attention. Her son George Papandreou, also a former Greek premier, shares his memories.
For 30 years Loyd Price was one of the senior animators behind the success of Wallace and Gromit and other Aardman series. Loyd worked on “Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave”, “The Curse of the Were Rabbit”, “The Shaun the Sheep Movie” and “Chicken Run”. He co-directed and wrote “Wallace and Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions” and won a Visual Effects Society Award for his character animation on Gromit. Sir Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations, reflects on Loyd's career.
Malcolm Edwards was the respected publisher of novels by authors including Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz and Harlan Coben. His first job in publishing was at Gollancz where he followed his passion for science fiction by managing a list which included Sir Arthur C Clarke, the “Dune” author Frank Herbert and Sir Terry Pratchett. Malcolm then moved to Harper Collins before becoming managing director of Orion. Jon Wood worked with Malcom on Harlan Coben’s breakthrough novel “Tell No-One", and author Kate Mosse collaborated with Malcolm during the publication of her best-selling novel 'Labyrinth'.
Tarby Davenport founded The Weird and Wonderful Wood festival in Suffolk. It began as a small, affordable, family-friendly celebration of woodlands and traditional crafts in 1994. The two-day event now attracts over 10,000 people to enjoy circus performances, music and crafts whilst still maintaining that original ethos. Her daughter Sarah Barker spoke to Matthew about the woman who kept the spirit of the sixties alive in Suffolk.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
First Socialist Government in Greece, BBC Radio 4, 21/10/1981; Woman's Hour (Margaret Papandreou), BBC Radio 4, 26/07/1982; Newsnight (Margaret Papandreou), BBC Two; A Close Shave, BBC One, 1995; Chicken Run, Feature Film (Aardman Animations / DreamWorks / Pathé), 2000; Weird & Wonderful Wood, uploaded to Youtube 04/02/2026 (Permission granted by Sarah Barker); The Coode Street Podcast, Episode 158: Live with Malcolm Edwards and David G. Hartwell, Coode Street Podcast, 06/09/2013;

American evangelist Jim Bakker built up the multi-million dollar Praise the Lord TV network, but ended up in prison after being convicted of fraud. Often working alongside his wife Tammy Faye, Jim became one of the best-known evangelical preachers in the United States. At its height, his PTL – or Praise the Lord – Network was pulling in 14 million viewers. But Jim’s career would eventually end in ignominy and imprisonment. Matthew spoke to John Wigger who is the author of “PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s Evangelical Empire”.
Douglas Dunn, the Scottish poet and academic, wrote movingly about the death of his wife. Douglas has often been described as one of Scotland’s greatest modern poets. His subject matter ranged widely from working class life to personal grief. He won both the Whitbread Prize and the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. His fellow poet, and friend, Sean O'Brien reflects on Douglas's life and works.
Chloe Fisher was an internationally respected authority on breastfeeding and devoted herself for over fifty years to improving the care of mothers and babies. Chloe qualified as a midwife in 1956 and worked in Oxford, often helping women to give birth at home. She would go on to write some of the most influential texts on breastfeeding and to chair the Royal College of Midwives’ working group on the subject. Matthew spoke to her friend and colleague Sally Inch.
The Scottish singer and TV presenter Lena Martell had a massive hit single in 1979 with 'One Day At A Time'. It sold millions of copies and beat off challenges from Michael Jackson and Abba to stay at number one for three weeks. In her long musical career Lena toured widely around the world, released thirty albums and also had her own TV show which entertained audiences of 12 million. Dougie Stevenson was Lena’s recording manager for many years and also played pedal steel guitar in her band.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
My Kind of Music (Lena Martell), ITV; Lena Martell, BBC Television; Lena Martell in Studio Concert (with Mike Newman and The Pattersons), BBC Television; Lena Martell in Concert, BBC Television; Top of the Pops (Big Hits 1979), BBC One; 1979; File on Four: The Electronic Church, BBC Radio 4; Today, BBC Radio 4, 26/03/1987; News, BBC Radio, 28/05/1987; News, BBC Radio, 05/10/1989;

Margaret Hamilton was a trailblazer in her field, leading the team who developed the software for Nasa's Apollo missions. This was where the term "software engineering" was first coined. Margaret's work in the 1960s, ultimately enabled the astronauts on Apollo 11 to land on the moon. In 2016, Hamilton's life work was honoured by Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to science and space travel. Kevin Fong is the presenter of the podcast '13 minutes to the moon' which tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission. He explained to Matthew the significance of Margaret's work, and how it was put to the ultimate test just three minutes before the astronauts landed on the moon.
The Bosnian Serb politician Biljana Plavšiċ, was the only woman to be charged with crimes against humanity for her role in the Balkans conflict of the 1990s. For nearly four years, she was vice-president of Republika Srpska, a Serb enclave in Bosnia that declared itself a separate state in 1992. It was the beginning of a program of brutal ethnic cleansing aimed at driving out Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs. The BBC's Allan Little reported from Bosnia throughout the conflict and interviewed Biljana Plavšiċ on a number of occasions.
During the swinging 60s, Felicity Green was a trend-setting fashion editor at the Daily Mirror. She championed the work of many of the top young designers who made their names in that decade. In 1973 she became the first woman to sit on the board of a national newspaper and in later years went onto teach journalism at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London. Deborah Bee was a student of Felicity's in the 1980s, and they remained friends throughout the rest of her life.
George Fenton was without doubt one of the UK’s, if not the world’s, most prolific and versatile film composers. He wrote scores for dozens of Hollywood blockbusters including Gandhi, Dangerous Liaisons and Cry Freedom. He had long working relationships with directors like Richard Attenborough, Ken Loach and Nora Ephron. But he came back to the UK to play a significant part in the global success of the BBC’s natural history programmes narrated by Sir David Attenborough, including Blue Planet, Frozen Planet and Planet Earth. Alastair Fothergill was the the producer of those series for the BBC.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 11/05/2003; Blue Planet (Episode 1), BBC One, 24/09/2009; The Blue Planet (Series 1: Tidal Seas), BBC One, 29/09/2000; Bergerac (Series 4: The Last Interview), BBC One, 11/10/1985; Desert Island Discs (Cassandra Wilson), BBC Radio 4, 17/04/2011; Apollo 11 Archive, NASA; Apollo 8 Archive, NASA / Internet Archive; 13 Minutes to the Moon, BBC World Service / BBC Sounds; Oral History of Margaret Hamilton, Computer History Museum, Uploaded to Youtube.

Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare - Jeffery Archer - was a top sprinter in his 20s, an MP at 29, a multi-million best-selling author and a close confidant of Conservative Prime Ministers, his career came crashing down following unwise investments, a scandal involving a sex worker and a conviction for perjury. A life worthy of a novel, told by journalist Michael Crick when he wrote 'Stranger than Fiction', an unauthorised biography of Jeffrey Archer.
Cassandra Wilson was once described by Time magazine as the best singer in America. She was also a Grammy award winner who had a distinctive and versatile voice which allowed her to move seamlessly from experimental jazz to the great American song book and on to covers of well-known pop songs. Alyn Shipton, presenter of Radio 3’s Jazz Record Requests and Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music, only ever gave one five star review to a jazz performer, and that was to Cassandra.
During the 1990s BBC journalist Mark Doyle became one of the most trusted voices reporting for TV and radio on Africa. His balanced and thoughtful dispatches gained him many admirers across the continent. He was an eyewitness to terrible events during the civil war in Sierra Leone and the genocide in Rwanda:. Milton Nkosi was a former Africa bureau chief for the BBC, he worked closely with Mark for many years.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
Cassandra Wilson in Conversation with Robert Sandall, BBC Radio 3, 02/11/2002; Jazz Library: Cassandra Wilson, BBC Radio 3, 04/07/2008; 24 Hours, BBC One, 04/12/1969; Desert Island Discs: Jeffrey Archer, BBC Radio 4, 31/01/1981; Jeffrey Archer Resigns, BBC News, 26/10/1986; The Ian Wooldridge Interviews: Jeffrey Archer, ITV, 05/03/1982; Newsnight, BBC Two, 24/07/1987